Alaska Legislature passes bill enabling employers to use saliva tests for drugs, alcohol

More Alaska employers may use saliva for drug and alcohol testing, thanks to a new bill that passed the Alaska Legislature on the final day of the regular session.Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, sponsored the bill after a request from the Alaska Power Association on behalf of local power companies.

“I think ultimately, it is a time- and money-saver for industry, and it also gets drug testing out of the way for employees in a way that’s less invasive,” he said. “I think that’s good. As long as people aren’t doing drugs or drinking when and where they shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

. The U.S. Department of Health and Social Services had been considering saliva testing since 2004 but didn’t deem the technology adequate until recently.THC, the principal psychoactive chemical in cannabis, isn’t detectable by a standard breathalyzer, and THC can linger in blood and urine for weeks, making those testing methods a poor judge of intoxication.is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity.

Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, said she introduced it at the request of a constituent whose employee died after being unable to climb back onto a dock. Education, energy, crime, elections and the state budget are marked for special attention, members of the House and Senate say.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

Alaska Saliva Test

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